February 2014-latest updates coming at last!

Please send me any photographs and any stories of Saito Sensei's wife, whom we all know as okusan. There have been requests to bring some light onto her supportive and possibly heroic role over the years.

Morihiro Saito, 9th dan, shihan, and our aikido Sensei and friend,
was with us from March 31, 1928 until May 12, 2002.

Let's follow photographically and anecdotally how this strong young farm boy developed into the man who continues to inspire us.

WHY THIS WEBSITE?

Saito Sensei was extremely well photographed for his many books and videos. However, this is a central place for us to share more informal and personal photos and memories. Let's enjoy photos and stories that remind us of the many-faceted person Saito Sensei was and the many good times we shared along the aiki-michi, and stay in touch as time marches on.

YouTube Videos

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS

You may have a favorite photo of Saito Sensei, Hitohiro, okusan, or others of the extensive Saito family. Please include the year and place, circumstances and names of individuals in the photo. E-mail your favorite Saito Sensei photographs and stories to Patricia Yarrow at pyarrow@well.com, or by mail:

Patricia Yarrow
Ryogoku 3-3-8-404
Sumida-ku, Tokyo-to
Japan 130-0026

IWAMA DESHI DATABASE

Soren Andersen in Copenhagen, Denmark has launched a database of people who stayed in Iwama. If YOU stayed in Iwama, please email Soren Andersen (SorensanDK@hotmail.com) of KÝbenhavns Aikido Klub (http://www.aikido-copenhagen.dk/) your name and the dates you were there. For those of us who were there many times, just do your best to be complete. The link to the database will be posted here soon.

2005 May 12. Add "Letters to the Website" page and two photos. Change link name from "Best Photos" to "Favorite Photos". Correct names, titles, and a few links. NEXT: Adding photos from Turramurra. Viewer count: 22,265."

2005 May 24. Added photos from Derek Minus of Turramurra, Australia. Special thanks for early photos of Hitohiro. Viewer count: 22,630.

2005 June. TAA agrees to fund the domain name. Aviv Goldman had graciously paid for the name until this point.

2005 December 25. I wrote my thesis, completed my MA in Japanese language and literature, said fond farewell to UCAR aikido, and moved to the remote island of Awaji in Japan. Website connectivity is problematic. Updates: Photos added to 2001 from Jean Marc Serio. TAA of Italy weblink corrected. Request from Justin in London honored. Viewer count: 28,707.

2007 April 19. Update all pages to 2007. Name correction from the person's now grown son. New server meant new logging on info. Viewer count: 44,553.

2008 April 30. I've finally moved back into Tokyo! Next month I rejoin my friends at Yoyogi aikido. In the middle of updating the entire website now. Carlos Nogueira from Brasil sent many wonderful photos. I'm posting several. Adding links. Viewer count: 54,808

2014 February 06. Updates begin as I recast the entire website into Dreamweaver CS4 on my iMac. Since 2008, I have been...distracted with a broken leg, then in early 2013 getting both knee joints replaced. Just did not have the mental space to deal with websites, but now I am recovered and joyfully back in the saddle. Viewer count: 79,700